More than 15 percent of the approximately 2,350 Lockheed C-130 Hercules production hulls have been lost, including 70 by the US Air Force and the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Not all US C-130 losses have been crashes, 29 of those listed below were destroyed on the ground by enemy action or other non-flying accidents.[1][2]

From 1967 to 2005, the Royal Air Force (RAF) recorded an accident rate of about one Hercules loss per 250,000 flying hours.[3]United States Air Force Hercules (A/B/E-models), as of 1989, had an overall attrition rate of 5 percent as compared to 1 to 2 percent for commercial airliners in the U.S., according to the NTSB, 10 percent for B-52 bombers, and 20 percent for fighters (F-4, F-111), trainers (T-37, T-38), and helicopters (H-3).[4]

This is thought to be a complete listing through July 1, 2012, but omits the JC-130A (53-3130, c/n 3002) test airframe that was tested to destruction and airframes retired or withdrawn from service. By the nature of the Hercules' worldwide service, the pattern of losses provides a barometer of global hotspots over the past fifty years.[1]

The two prototype YC-130s, AF Serial Numbers 53-3396 and 53-3397, were built at the Burbank, California plant, and were given c/ns 1001 and 1002. Production Hercules have all been built at the Lockheed-Marietta, Georgia plant, and began their c/ns at 3001 (USAF 53-3129, still extant at the Air Force Armament Museum). The first prototype, c/n 1001, was disassembled at Warner Robins AFB in October 1960. The second prototype, c/n 1002, was salvaged at Indianapolis, Indiana in April 1962. (Lars Olausson, Lockheed Hercules Production List, 1954–2008, April 2007, page 2.) There have been a small number of c/ns assigned to airframes on order that were not built for various reasons. Also, C-130A model production ended at c/n 3231, and a new series for the B-model began at c/n 3501, the only time a large block was skipped for an upgraded airframe.

Some 2,500 hulls have been built or are on order. USMC KC-130J BuNo 167111, c/n 5580, delivered December 2006 to VMGR-352, is the 2,300th Hercules. As of 2011, constructor numbers have been projected for anticipated orders through c/n 5800, with projected delivery in 2015 (Olausson, Production List, March 2011).

August 1, 1989: L-100-30 7T-VHK of Air Algérie damaged when it skidded off runway while landing at Tamanrasset, written off.

June 30, 2003: Algerian Air Force C-130H 7T-WHQ crashed shortly after takeoff from Boufarik Airport, after an engine caught fire. The Hercules crashed into the Beni Mered district on the outskirts of Blida, destroying at least four houses. All five crew and ten people on the ground were killed.

August 13, 2006: L-100-30 7T-BHG of Air Algérie was destroyed when it collided with terrain following a high-rate descent from 24,000 feet in Piacenza, Italy. The pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer were killed.[5]

July 15, 1996: C-130H CH-06 of the Belgian Air Force crashed at Eindhoven AB in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The aircraft was carrying 37 members of the Dutch Army Fanfare Band, two pilots, one engineer and one loadmaster (41 total). The aircraft had departed from Villafranca in Italy. It is believed that the co-pilot initiated a go-around after noticing a flock of birds on the runway. Some were ingested resulting in loss of power on three engines. The aircraft hit the runway and caught fire. 32 people died in the crash and resulting fire. Nine heavily burned survivors were rescued, two of whom later died in hospital. This crash is also known in the Netherlands as the Herculesramp (Hercules disaster).

December 21, 1989: C-130A TAM62 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed at Guayaramerin, Bolivia, 700 kilometers north-northeast of La Paz, after three-engine take-off. 22 of the 27 people on board were killed.

January 14, 2000: C-130B TAM60 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed at Chimorre Airport (Bolivia). The aircraft departed down the left side of runway 35, but 600 meters from the approach end, impacted into a ditch and came to rest in a forested area off the left side of the runway. The aircraft was a total loss with seven crew and 24 passengers dead.[7]

C-130H 2470 undershot the runway at Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Air Base (TNM/SCRM), King George Island, Antarctica, hitting a rock out-crop which ripped off the starboard undercarriage legs. The aircraft proceeded down the runway, settling to stbd, when the No. 4 and No. 3 propellers contacted the snow. The aircraft ground-looped to a standstill largely intact.[10] Despite plans to repair the aircraft, it was decided to dismantle it in an environmentally safe method so the parts could be removed to Brazil.[11][12]

November 21, 1976: L-100-20 CF-PWX of Pacific Western Airlines crashed at Eastville, near Kisangani, Zaire, low fuel, emergency landing in fog at night.Field landing lights off on arrival, not enough fuel to return, let down in jungle, one survivor.

October 15, 1980: CC-130E 130312 of the Canadian Forces operated by 436 Squadron, stalled at low level and crashed near Chapais, Quebec, while on a Search and Rescue Mission for a lost helicopter.[15]

November 16, 1982: CC-130H 130329 of the Canadian Forces crashed during a Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) operation at Namao when the load failed to clear the aircraft causing it to crash.[16]

March 29, 1985: Two Canadian Forces CC-130H, 130330 and 130331 both of 435 Squadron, crashed after having a mid-air collision over CFB Namao, near Edmonton, Alberta.[17][18] This remains the only dual Hercules mid-air collision.

January 29, 1989: CC-130E 130318 of the Canadian Forces and operated by 435 Squadron when it crashed 600 feet short of the runway during a night approach at −46C, in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.[19]

October 30, 1991: CC-130E 130322 of the Canadian Forces was flying to Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert from Edmonton, Alberta via Thule Air Base, Greenland. While on final approach to the airstrip the pilot apparently was flying by sight rather than relying on instruments. The aircraft crashed on Ellesmere Island approximately 16 km (9.9 miles) short of the runway, killing five of the 18 passengers and crew. Subsequent rescue efforts by personnel from CFS Alert, USAF personnel from Thule AB and CF personnel from 440 Squadron, CFB Edmonton, Alberta, 413 Sqn CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia and 424 Sqn Trenton, Ontario, were hampered by a blizzard and local terrain. The crash investigation recommended all CC-130s be retrofitted with ground proximity detectors and beefed-up Arctic survival equipment. The crash and rescue efforts were the basis of a film called Ordeal in the Arctic.

July 22, 1993: CC-130E 130321 of the Canadian Forces and operated by 435 Squadron, Edmonton, Alberta, crashed while performing a low-level practice LAPES drop at CFB Wainwright, Alberta. During the drop the airplane hit a berm and crashed in prairie grassland, breaking up into three pieces. Five of the nine military personnel on board died.

July 12, 1978: C-130H 748 of the Ecuadorian Air Force and operated by 11 squadron crashed into the eastern slopes of Pichincha Mountains, Ecuador. Seven fatalities; the plane was transporting general cargo and appliances for the Welfare office of the Ecuadorean Air force.

April 29, 1982: C-130H 743 of the Ecuadorian Air Force and operated by 11 squadron, crashed into a forested hill side 15 kilometers before the runway of Marisal Sucre airport in Quito, Ecuador during go-around after missed approach.

February 19, 1978: C-130H 1270 of the Egyptian Air Force suffered a ground fire at Larnaca, Cyprus during a hostage rescue attempt. Three people were killed, the airplane's nose was burnt out and it was later written off.

August 14, 1986: C-130D 556 of the Honduran Air Force crashed during attempted landing near Wampusirpi, Honduras, killing all 52 people on board. It was suspected that bad weather may have played a part in the crash.

March 28, 2014: An Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, one of the six purchased in 2012, crashed near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, India, while on a training mission killing all 5 on board and destroying the aircraft.[24] The aircraft was conducting low level penetration training by flying at around 300 ft when it ran into Wake turbulence, from another aircraft in the formation, which caused it to crash.[25]

September 24, 1994: L-100-30 PK-PLV of Pelita Air Service crashed into water on take-off from Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, overspeed on number four propeller. This was the second and last Hercules accident at this airport.

May 20, 2009: L-100-30 A-1325 of the Indonesian Air Force (31 Squadron) was carrying soldiers and their families when it crashed into homes and erupted in flames, killing at least 98 people. The burning wreckage of the Hercules was scattered in a rice paddy near Magetan, East Java, about 160 kilometers east of Yogyakarta. The plane was carrying more than 100 passengers and crew including soldiers and their families, among them children. It was flying from Jakarta to the eastern province of Papua via Magetan.[26]

March 13, 1997: Unidentified C-130 of the IRIAF, crashed near Mashad, killing 86.

February 2, 2000: An unidentified C-130 of the IRIAF crashed on take-off for training flight from Tehran–Mehrabad Airport (THR) – lost control and hit empty Iran Airbus A300 being towed into hangar. Both hulls burned. Eight on Hercules killed.

December 6, 2005: C-130E 5-8319 of the IRIAF crashed into a ten-floor apartment building, home to a number of air force personnel, in a residential area of Tehran, Iran. The aircraft was carrying 84 passengers (68 of whom were journalists due to watch military exercises off the country's south coast) and 10 crew members. In all, 116 people died.

September 26, 1992: C-130H 911 of the Nigerian Air Forcecrashed three minutes after take-off from Lagos, Nigeria, three engines failed, high take-off weight. All 158 people on board were killed, including eight foreign nationals.

September 10, 1998: Five crewmen (2 pilots and 3 FEs) were killed and four more were injured when a Pakistan Air Force C-130 went out of control after a brake fire and hit a parked C-130 at the PAF Chaklala base. Both aircraft were written off.[37]

August 25, 2008: L-100-20 4593 of the Philippine Air Force (220th Airlift Wing based in Mactan, Cebu), crashed at 2055 hrs. into sea shortly after take off in Davao City in Mindanao. The aircraft, built in 1975, had lost contact after taking off from Davao International Airport shortly before midnight. The cause of the crash was unknown. Two pilots, seven crewmen which consists of an Instructor Flight Engineer, student flight engineer, Crew Chief, two Load Masters, one student Load Master and a flight mechanic, and two Scout Rangers were on board when it crashed. Until now the authorities are still solving the plane's mysterious crash.[38]

December 1989: C-130H 460 of the RSAF (4 Squadron) burned on ground, air conditioner fire – in airfield corner at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, December 1989. Restored for ground training by August 1993, same March 2002. At Riyadh Air Base Museum, November 2002, restored for ground display.

March 24, 1969: Hercules C.1 XV180 of the Royal Air Force crashed shortly after take off at Fairford in Gloucestershire. The aircraft was on a routine training flight when it stalled on take-off and plunged into a ploughed field 300 yards from the end of the runway, six crew members died.[42]

September 12, 1972: Hercules C.1 XV194 of the RAF veered off runway on landing at Tromsø/Langnes Airport (TOS), in Norway and ended up in a ditch. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

September 10, 1973: Hercules C.1 XV198 of the RAF (48 Squadron) crashed at RAF Colerne in Wiltshire. It was carrying out co-pilot training when it was overshooting from runway 07 with a simulated engine failure when the other engine on that side failed. At that height (400 ft) and speed involved, the asymmetric forces proved too much for the crew to control and the aircraft dived into the ground. All five crew died.[44]

May 27, 1993: Hercules C.3 XV193 of the RAF crashed at Glen Loch, Blair Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland when it stalled after cargo drop. Eight RAF crew and one Army Air Despatcher on board perished.[48][49][50]

August 4, 1994: A low flying RAF Hercules struck and killed a soldier who was standing on top of an Army truck at South Cerney airfield in Gloucestershire. The Soldier was from RAF Brize Norton and was part of the drop zone recovery party. The aircraft had dropped parachute loads on the airfield and was making a low pass following the final drop.[51]

June 11, 1999: Hercules C.1 XV298 of the RAF crashed on take-off from Kukës airstrip, Albania when it hit an obstacle on take-off. Fire, written off.[52]

January 30, 2005: Hercules C.1 XV179 of the RAF crashed with 10 crew on board when it was hit by insurgent fire while en route from Baghdad airport to Balad. A fire triggered by the hit may have induced an explosion in the right hand wing fuel tank.[53]

May 24, 2006: Hercules C.1 XV206 of the RAF (47 Squadron Special Forces Flight) was carrying the new British ambassador in Afghanistan, Stephen Evans when it crash landed at a dirt landing strip outside the town of Lashkar Gar in Helmand Province, Afghanistan after hitting a landmine on roll-out which holed the port external fuel tank and set the number two (port inner) engine on fire. All nine crew and 26 passengers aboard safely evacuated, but the airframe burned out. It was later revealed that the Hercules was carrying a large number of SAS troops as well as a large amount of cash described as being one million dollars in some sources, and as "more than one million pounds" by others, while the MoD only admitted to a "sizeable amount of cash". The money was apparently destined for local warlords in exchange for their influence and intelligence.[54][55]

February 12, 2007: Hercules C.4 ZH876 of the RAF was seriously damaged during a landing incident in the Maysan Province of Iraq near the Iranian border. The aircraft was subsequently destroyed as it was deemed too dangerous for coalition forces to repair and recover it. This was the first C-130J loss for any nationality since the new variant entered service in 1999. Although it is acknowledged that this was not a Special Forces aircraft, it carried secure communications equipment that could not be compromised.[56][57]

August 23, 2007: Hercules C.1 XV205 of the RAF landed "very heavily" at night on a rough airstrip in Afghanistan in an area where there was a heavy Taliban presence. The Hercules, from 47 Squadron at RAF Lyneham, flown by a 47 Squadron Special Forces Flight crew, was badly damaged and could not be recovered. It was destroyed in place by British engineers so that sensitive equipment would not fall into enemy hands. No casualties were reported. Aircraft was modified with FLIR turret and night cameras in 2005.[58][59]

May 6, 2010: Hercules C.3A XV304 of the RAF made a belly landing at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The decision was made not to repair it and its outer wing panels have been removed to replace those a Hercules C.1 undergoing a major overhaul at Cambridge.[60]

January 11, 1965: During an engine run-up test at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, a C-130B 58-0719, c/n 3514, of the 313th Troop Carrier Wing, jumped the wheel chocks and pivoted into C-130B 58-0730, c/n 3525, of the same squadron. Both airframes were destroyed in the ensuing fire. This was the first of five recorded cases of Hercules fratricide, as of March 2010.

March 25, 1965: C-130E 63-7797, c/n 3863, of the 464th Troop Carrier Wing, hit high-tension line on ridge top and crashed near Alençon, France, killing all seven crew.

April 24, 1965: C-130A 57-0475, c/n 3182, of the 815th Troop Carrier Squadron, crashed at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, during go-around in bad weather with heavy load – lost two engines, low fuel. This was the first Hercules hull loss related to the war in Southeast Asia. Six killed.

July 1, 1965: C-130A 55-0042, c/n 3069, of the 817th Troop Carrier Squadron, was destroyed by sappers with satchel charges at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam.

August 24, 1965: USMC KC-130F BuNo 149802, c/n 3693, of VMGR-152, MAG-15, veered off runway on take-off from Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong and hit seawall, and crashed into the sea. No. 1 propeller reversed. This was the first Hercules hull loss in Marine Corps service. It was carrying Marine personnel returning to Vietnam after R & R in Hong Kong – of six crew and 65 passengers, 59 were killed while flying. Aircraft commander disregarded SOP. This is the worst accident at Kai Tak. The airport was relocated to Chek Lap Kok in 1998.

September 18, 1965: C-130A 55-0038, c/n 3065, of the 35th Troop Carrier Squadron, crashed when it struck water before landing at Qui Nhơn, South Vietnam. (Lars Olausson, "Lockheed Hercules Production List, 1954–2008, 25th edition", page 7). According to Chris Hobson's "Vietnam Air Losses", page 52, the crew was attempting a VFR approach in low cloud and rain but the aircraft hit the water as it rolled out of a turn. Two crew and two passengers killed, three crew survived. Qui Nhơn airfield became notorious for tricky crosswind conditions.

December 20, 1965: C-130E 62-1843, c/n 3805, of the 345th Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Wing, crashed into hill during approach to Tuy Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, according to Lars Olausson. Chris Hobson gives the following account: "...the first Hercules assumed to be lost in the air to enemy action [in Southeast Asia]. The aircraft was attempting to land at Tuy Hoa under a very low cloud base when it was hit by ground fire five miles south of the air base and crashed killing all [five] crew...Enemy action was never actually confirmed to have caused the loss of this aircraft which may have simply flown into high ground in poor visibility." (Vietnam Air Losses, Page 44). Serial number subsequently assigned to C-130E 64-0506, c/n 3990 in 1973, which was assigned "to another agency" December 31, 1964, and flew Air America missions in support of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations in Southeast Asia in a "sanitized" condition. Modified to C-130E(I). Reappeared at Hurlburt Field, Florida in the early 1970s, carrying 62–1843 identity, as C-130E(I), redesignated MC-130E in early 1977. Assigned to the 711th Special Operations Squadron at Duke Field, Eglin Air Force Base Aux. Field 3, in October 1995, c/n 3990, the faux 62-1843, was still there as of December 2005. The builders plate reads what the Air Force wants it to read, but the airframe hours tell no lies, and the identity is an open secret on the flightline.[63] Seen at Eglin AFB with no markings aside from serials, February 2009.

January 6, 1966: C-130B 61-0972, c/n 3669, of the 463d Troop Carrier Wing, carrying a load of ammunition, was shot down west of Pleiku, South Vietnam while en route from the US Army's 1st Air Cavalry base at An Khê to Pleiku.[64]

February 1, 1966: USMC KC-130F BuNo 149809, c/n 3709, of VMGR-152, damaged over North Vietnam, crashed in sea 65 kilometers east of Đồng Hới. Six crew lost, although it was always reported to members of VMGR-152 that 3709 reported "strange lights" on Tiger Island, that they were going down to investigate and were never heard from again. Furthermore, the oral history reports that while there was never any debris sighted, an oil slick was.

March 26, 1966: C-130A 56-0506, c/n 3114, of the 41st Troop Carrier Squadron, damaged landing at Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam, due to propeller reversal problem. Swerved into ditch to avoid truck at end of runway. Crew survived. Destroyed when towed by tank. Fuselage adapted for use as Officers Club building at Tuy Hoa.

March 29, 1966: C-130B 61-0953, c/n 3630, of the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron, written-off after it touched down short of the runway during night landing at Pleiku, South Vietnam. Three crew killed, two survived.

May 31, 1966: C-130E 64-0511, c/n 3995, of the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron, 64th Troop Carrier Wing, shot down during Project Carolina Moon operation against the Thanh Hóa bridge on the Song Ma River, North Vietnam. Crew of eight KIA when Hercules attempted to drop an 8-foot-diameter (2.4 m) bomb containing 5,000 lbs. of explosives on the rail bridge but exploded a few miles north of the target, assumed to have been either shot down or suffered controlled flight into terrain.

October 12, 1966: C-130E 63-7886, c/n 3957, of the 516th Troop Carrier Wing, flew into ground at night c. 30 kilometers north-northwest of Aspermont, Texas. It impacts in a brushy pasture on the 6666 Ranch, 75 miles NW of Abilene, near US 83. Only one of the crew of six survives, a loadmaster, who is pulled from the wreckage by a passing truck driver, Carroll Brezee. He was in critical condition. The fuselage and tail section lay near the center of a burned area about 50 X 200 yards, with parts scattered along a half-mile stretch. Sheriff E. W. Hollar, of Guthrie, nine miles N of the crash site, said that persons first reaching the scene found two bodies. A ground party from Dyess AFB found the other three in a search through heavy mesquite brush. Authorities said that these were the first fatalities in the 516th Troop Carrier Wing since it was formed at Dyess in December 1958.[65]

February 10, 1968: USMC KC-130F BuNo 149813, c/n 3719, of VMGR-152, crash landed on runway at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, when ground fire set alight fuel bladder on board. Crash was documented in full color by cameramen at the Marine firebase.

February 29, 1968: C-130E 64-0522, c/n 4006, of the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, hit by ground fire on take-off from Song Ba, South Vietnam, returned, crash landed and burned. Crew of five and five passengers escaped. Pilot Major Leland R. Filmore awarded a Silver Star for his part in this event. Chris Hobson's Vietnam Air Losses gives the date as February 28, 1968, page 139.

April 26, 1968: C-130B 60-0298, c/n 3602, of the 773d Tactical Airlift Squadron, shot down dropping load at A Loui, South Vietnam. Crashed trying to land at A Loui. Manned by mixed crew from 29th and 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadrons.

June 25, 1968: C-130E 62-1861, c/n 3825, with the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron from December 1965, from Tuy Hoa departed Katum Camp, took .50 calibre AAA fire which set number one (port outer) engine afire which spread along port wing. Crash landed at Tay Ninh, South Vietnam, with only nose and port landing gear extended, veered off runway, exploded and burned. Crew of five escaped through cockpit overhead hatch and survived.

January 27, 1969: C-130E 63-7780, c/n 3846, of the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, destroyed in night mortar attack at Tonie Cham, South Vietnam. Aircraft had been assigned as Thunderbirds demonstration team support craft, October 1966.

May 18, 1969: USMC KC-130F BuNo 149814, c/n 3723, of VMGR-152, collided head-on with F-4B BuNo 151001 of VMFA-542, MAG-13, from Chu Lai (both crew killed), while refuelling two F-4Bs of VMFA-314 over South Vietnam near Phu Bai. Two crew of F-4B BuNo 151450, survived after jettisoning bombs and ejecting, while the second F-4B recovered safely to Chu Lai. Olausson states that the KC-130F was from VMGR-352, while Hobson claims it was assigned to VMGR-152.

October 11, 1970: L-100 c/n 4221, delivered July 1967 as Lockheed Aircraft Service Company N9248R; leased to Alaska Airlines, November 1968 – November 1969, then modified to L-100-20. Sold to Saturn Airways, October 1970. Crashed at Fort Dix in bad weather on approach to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. All three crew were employees of Airlift International, Miami, Florida. KWF were Capt. H. Miller, co-pilot L. Hoffman, and engineer J. Marin.[72]

February 15, 1971: USN LC-130F BuNo 148318, c/n 3562, of VXE-6, named "City of Christchurch", hit snow wall while taxiing at McMurdo, Antarctica, when wing hit ground, broke, burned. This was the first USN Hercules written off.

March 28, 1972: AC-130A 55-0044, c/n 3071, of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, named "Prometheus", shot down by SA-2 GuidelineSAM, southeast of Sepone, Laos.

March 30, 1972: AC-130E 69-6571, c/n 4345, of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, shot down over the Ho Chi Minh trail, Laos, the second AC-130 lost in three days, and the first E-model gunship attrited. This second loss in three days alarmed Special Operations Command, and led to a review of operational parameters.

April 18, 1972: C-130E 63-7775, c/n 3841, of the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing, shot down, crashed in rice paddy near Lai Khe, South Vietnam. All crew members survived, Written off.

April 25, 1972: C-130E 64-0508, c/n 3992, of the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 374th Tactical Airlift Wing, shot down near drop zone at An Lộc, South Vietnam, during night mission.

June 5, 1972: C-130D 57-0495, c/n 3202, of the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron, named "The Harker", stalled while overshooting at Dye III, 320 kilometers east of Söndreström Air Base, Greenland – rudder stall during flat side-slipping turn. Written off.

June 5, 1972: C-130E 62-1805, c/n 3759, of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, loaned to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing – crashed in sea near Makung, Pescadores Islands, after suffering landing gear explosion while in traffic pattern. Pilot retracted landing gear while brake assembly was overheated. Denied sufficient cooling air after retraction into well, the port aft wheel assembly exploded damaging wheel well bulkhead, rupturing several hydraulic lines, the fluid from which was then ignited by the hot components resulting in loss of control of the aircraft.[73]

June 18, 1972: AC-130A 55-0043, c/n 3070, of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, shot down by SA-7SAM, over the A Shau Valley, southwest of Huế, South Vietnam.

August 12, 1972: C-130E 62-1853, c/n 3817, of the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, shot down during take-off from Sóc Trăng, South Vietnam.

October 15, 1973: USAF C-130E, 62-1845, c/n 3808, of the 62nd Tactical Airlift Squadron, 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed on the north side of Sugarloaf Mountain, 20 miles (45 kilometers) south of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The aircraft exploded on impact and was destroyed by fire. All seven crew were killed.

May 23, 1974: L-100 c/n 4225, delivered September 1967, as Lockheed Aircraft Services, N759AL, modified to L-100-20, August 1969, sold to Saturn Airways, N14ST, named "Bozo", October 1970. Modified to L-100-30, February 1972. Wing broke in turbulence at Springfield, Illinois.

October 13, 1974: WC-130H 65-0965, c/n 4106, built as HC-130H, delivered August 1965, to 48th ARRSq, November 1965; to 79th ARRSq, July 1966; to 36th ARRSq, December 1970; back to 79th ARRSq, 1971. Modified to WC-130H, 1974, assigned to the 53rd WRS, 1974. Disappeared in Taiwan Strait in Typhoon Bess, October 13, 1974.

October 27, 1974: L-100 c/n 4234, delivered February 1969, sold to National Aircraft Leasing, leased to Interior Airways, N7999S, April 1969. Leased to Delta Air Lines, line number 300, January 1970. Leased to International Aerodyne, February 1971, then leased to Alaska International Air, registered N102AK, July 1972, but still marked N7999S, May 1974. Wing broke on approach to Old Man's Camp, Alaska. Accident report identifies airframe as N102AK.

April 28, 1975: C-130E 72-1297, c/n 4519, of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, destroyed by 122 mm rocket, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. After off-loading a BLU-82, it was hit while taxiing to pick up evacuees. This was the last U.S. military Hercules hull loss associated with the war in Southeast Asia. It was these attacks by the advancing NVA that forced the closing of Tan Son Nhut to fixed-wing evacuation, thus necessitating the now-famous helicopter evacuations from downtown Saigon by the United States Marine Corps and the Air America arm of the CIA. See Operation Frequent Wind.

July 26, 1975: C-130A 57-0454, c/n 3161, of the 63rd Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed north of Imlay City, Michigan – lost blade from number three propeller, hit engine number four.

April 24, 1980: During the ill-fated secret rescue mission at an airstrip in the Great Salt Desert of Eastern Iran, near Tabas codenamed Operation Eagle Claw, an EC-130E, 62-1809, c/n 3770, of the 7th ACCS, was destroyed in collision with a USN RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter, BuNo 158761. As the helicopter took off it flew into the wing root of the EC-130 and crashed, killing five USAF aircrew in the C-130 and three USMC aircrew in the RH-53[75] All of the RH-53Ds had to be abandoned at the site. At least one airframe was assembled from the abandoned helicopters, to join six RH-53Ds supplied by the United States to the Iranian Navy in 1978.

October 2, 1980: C-130A 56-0504, c/n 3112, of the 105th Tactical Airlift Squadron, lost part of port wing leading edge, crashed near McMinnville, Tennessee. Aircraft had been operated by Air America as 604, c. February 1970.

October 29, 1980: An extensively modified YMC-130H, 74-1683, c/n 4658, crashed at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field 1, Wagner Field, Florida, during a demonstration of a modified MC-130H Combat Talon aircraft for a planned Iranian hostage rescue attempt named Operation Credible Sport. Arresting rockets fitted to the aircraft fired out of sequence, some early and some not at all, resulting in an extremely heavy landing that tore off the starboard wing and set the aircraft on fire. Despite this mishap, the entire crew survived. The wrecked hull was dismantled and those parts not salvageable buried at Wagner Field. Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VnSfPh3yt8 Rumors persist that the hull was rebuilt as an AC-130H gunship, however due to the highly classified nature of the gunship, there is no known documented evidence to support this.

April 13, 1982: C-130H 74-1678, c/n 4645, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, as of October 1977 with black camel on tail. Crashed near Sivas, 360 kilometers east of Ankara, Turkey, when number four (starboard outer) engine mount failed, destroyed number three (starboard inner) engine, wing broke.

February 13, 1983: C-130H 74-1693, c/n 4693, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, suffered a ground fire at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, written off. To loadmaster trainer at Pope, as of April 1984; fuselage only, same August 2012.

August 27, 1983: L-100-20 c/n 4333, delivered June 1969 as Lockheed Aircraft Service Company N7957S; leased to U.S. Navy, May 1969 for tests. Leased to Saturn Airways, N7957S, May 1970, named "Wimpy". Sold to Saturn, N17ST, October 1972. Modified to L-100-30, August 1973. To Trans International Airlines, December 1976, to Transamerica, October 1979, crashed 50 kilometers south of Dundo, Angola – hit mountain in fog.

February 28, 1984: C-130E 68-10944, c/n 4324,[76] of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed into mountains 55 kilometres (34 mi) northwest of Zaragoza, Spain, near the town of Borja.[77]

November 2, 1984: C-130E 68-10946, c/n 4326, of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crash landing at Giebelstadt Army Airfield, West Germany, nose section removed and used to repair c/n 4029, C-130E 64-0539, of the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, damaged when it ran off runway at Lajes, Azores, April 1984.

December 29, 1984: L-100 c/n 4101, first flown September 17, 1965, leased to Continental Air Services, N9260R, September 1965, then sold to the Government of Zambia, registered 9J-RCV, August 1966. Leased to Zambian Air Cargoes, August 1966, then sold to National Aircraft Leasing, registered N920NA, March 1969, in an FAA series usually reserved for aircraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, same January 1977. Leased to Alaska Airlines, April 1969. Leased to Saturn Airways, N24ST, June 1972, modified to L-100-30, November 1972. Leased to TIA, December 1976, port wing and engines damaged in explosion, May 1977, repaired; sold to TIA, April 1979. To Transamerica, October 1979, green and white scheme, Transamerica T on green tail in white – destroyed on ground as it landed Cafunfo, Angola during UNITA guerrilla attack. Electric buss panel fire due to gunfire spread, hull burnt out. Pilot, flight engineer survive groundfire and are captured by UNITA, repatriated through the Red Cross after a month; first officer, two Diamang couriers, killed by gunfire.[78]

January 22, 1985: A USAF C-130A 56-0501, c/n 3109, of the 95th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed in the sea during visual approach to Trujillo airport, Honduras.

September 9, 1986: C-130A, 56-0468, c/n 3076, delivered February 1957; of the 105th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Nashville, Tennessee, by December 1979, same January 1984. Lizard scheme, January 1986, crashed at end of runway, Fort Campbell, Kentucky – broken throttle cable.

October 4, 1986: L-100-30 c/n 4391, delivered June 1971 to Saturn Airways, N15ST, named "Barney", coded 'G'. Sold to TIA, December 1976. Leased to Saudia, March 1978. To Transamerica, October 1979, leased to Heavylift, Stansted, Great Britain, July 1984. Leased to Southern Air Transport (SAT), July 1986. Crashed into hangar during night take-off from Kelly Air Force Base, Texas – control lock in cockpit not removed.

April 8, 1987: L-100-30 c/n 4558, delivered November 1974 to Safair, registered ZS-RSE, then registered to Safair Freighters, USA, N46965, February 1982, incorrectly filed as N4696S. Registered to Globe Air, N517SJ (never painted on?), April 1987. Left wing hit ground 300 meters before runway at Fairfield-Travis Air Force Base, California during Southern Air Transport training landing when it lost power on both port engines during go-around, all five crew killed. Accident report lists it as SAT N517SJ.

July 1, 1987: A USAF C-130E, 68-10945, c/n 4325, crashed during an open house at Fort Bragg, during a display of the low level airdrop technique known as LAPES, (Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System), in which a parachute is used to pull the cargo out the rear door while the plane makes a touch-and-go. Pilot failed to pull-up after deploying M551 Sheridan tank, hit treeline, burned, killing three on board, one soldier on the ground, and injuring two crew.

December 9, 1987: USN LC-130R BuNo 159131, c/n 4522, operated by VXE-6 for the National Science Foundation, crashed landing at site D59, Carrefour, Antarctica, 1,200 kilometers from McMurdo, while bringing in spares for LC-130F BuNo 148321, c/n 3567, damaged when JATO bottle broke loose on take-off, February 1, 1971 and not repaired and flown out until January 1988. c/n 4522 written off.

June 8, 1988: C-130E 61-2373, c/n 3720, of the 154th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, crashed five kilometers short of runway while on approach to Greenville, Mississippi.

November 27, 1989: L-100 c/n 4129, delivered to ZAC-Alexander, registered 9J-RBW, April 1966, sold to Maple Leaf Leasing, 1969, leased to Pacific Western Airlines, line number 383, March 1969, damaged Eureka, Northwest Territory, August 1969, rebuilt as L-100-20, December 1969. Leased to Alaska International Air, (earlier Interior Airways, later Markair), December 1969. Sold to Pacific Western Airlines, registered CF-PWN, 1977, then sold to St. Lucia Airways, registered J6-SLO, May 1985, named "Juicy Lucy", after a rock and roll band, 1969–1972, transporting cargo for UNITA, July 1987. Sold to Tepper Aviation, Florida, N9205T, January 1988, named "Grey Ghost" – crash landing at Jamba, Huíla, Angola.

August 12, 1990: L-100-20, c/n 4384, delivered July 1970 to Saturn Airways, N11ST, named "W.C. Fields", modified to L-100-30, April 1971, leased to Alaska International Air (earlier Interior Airways, later Markair). Registered to TIA, December 1976. With Transamerica as of October 1979, airframe reached 44,000 hour mark, December 1984. Leased to Southern Air Transport, July 1986, registered to SAT, October 1987, reregistered N911SJ, March 1988, same March 1990. Engine failed on take-off from Juba, Sudan, returned for landing, overran runway, burned – written off.

January 31, 1991: C-130E 69-6567, c/n 4341, modified to AC-130E, ops by 415th Special Operations Training Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, by September 1972. Modified to AC-130H, 1973, to 16th Special Operations Squadron, by July 1978, electronic update, September 1990. Callsign 'Spirit 03', after opting to stay in the air knowing they would be vulnerable to enemy fire, stayed to cover a platoon of U.S. Marines on the ground; shot down by an SA-7 at dawn 110 kilometers south-southeast of Kuwait City, Kuwait in the Battle of Khafji. The crew of 14 was lost. This was largest single loss of life by the U.S. Air Force during Operation Desert Storm, and the last loss of an AC-130 due to enemy fire to date.[79]

September 2, 1991: L-100 c/n 4250, delivered December 1968 to National Aircraft Leasing, registered N9266R, leased the Interior Department, December 1968. Modified to L-100-20. Leased to Saturn Airways, registered N22ST, January 1971, then leased to Southern Air Transport, September 1972. Leased to Alaska International Air (formerly Interior Airways, later Markair), October 1975. Leased again to Southern Air Transport, April 1977, then sold to SAT, June 1978. Leased to Air Algérie, 1981. Registered to Commercial Air Leasing, N521SJ, June 1985, same November 1987. Leased to IAS/Diamang, 1986 – January 1987. Operations in Ethiopia for Caritas, November 1988. Blown-up by mine before take-off from Wau, Sudan.

February 6, 1992: A C-130B, 58-0732, c/n 3527, of the 165th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard, with five crew aboard (3 pilots, one flight engineer and one loadmaster), stalled on take-off and crashed one mile south of Evansville Regional Airport, Evansville, Indiana, United States, on U.S. Highway 41. Seventeen people were killed in the crash and fifteen others were injured.[81]

October 7, 1992: C-130E 63-7881, callsign 'Decoy 81', c/n 3952, of the 167th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed after wing hit power line near, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Six crew members killed with damage to property on ground.

February 3, 1993: A Lockheed L-100-20 N130X, c/n 4412, used as the Lockheed HTTB (High Technology Test Bed), crashed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, in Marietta, Georgia. The Lockheed engineering testbed was used to evaluate the fly-by-wire rudder actuator and the ground minimum control speed (VMCG). During the final high-speed ground test-run, the aircraft accidentally veered left and became airborne. The Hercules climbed to 250 feet and crashed. All seven crew aboard perished in the crash, in which a Navy clinic was narrowly missed.

March 23, 1994: An F-16D Fighting Falcon, AF Ser. No. 88-0171, collided in the landing approach pattern with a C-130E Hercules, AF Ser. No. 68-10942, c/n 4322. The F-16D skidded into a C-141B Starlifter, AF Ser No. 66-0173, at the Green Ramp, Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, where paratroopers from adjacent Fort Bragg were preparing for a drop mission. The ensuing explosion sent debris raining down on soldiers and airmen waiting to board the C-141. The C-130 managed to land safely. The incident is described in the book Disaster at Green Ramp by Mary Ellen Condon-Rall. The incident is also categorized as the deadliest peacetime accident ever.

August 13, 1994: A civilian Lockheed C-130A, N135FF, former USAF 56-0540, c/n 3148, operating as Tanker 82, crashed in steep mountainous terrain near Pearblossom, California. The aircraft was destroyed, killing the three people on board. The aircraft was owned by Aero Firefighting Service Company, Inc., and was operated by Hemet Valley Flying Service, Inc., on lease to the U.S. Forest Service as a public use aircraft.[83]

May 13, 1995: C-130E, 62-1838, c/n 3801, 'Sumit 38', operated by the 302d Airlift Wing, Peterson AFB, Colorado. Number 2 engine caught fire at a cruise altitude of 26K ft AGL after departing Boise, Idaho. The aircraft commander directed the flight engineer to discharge an extinguisher bottle, when that failed to put out the fire, the second one was activated. However, the fire re-ignited and the aircraft had no further extinguishing capability. Crew attempted to divert to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho (MUO). Number 2 engine improperly disengaged from its mount, causing severe fuselage and wing damage. Wing eventually severed completely from the airframe, causing Sumit 38 to crash approximately 23 minutes after leaving Boise, killing all six crewmembers.[84][85] This was the only Hercules hull loss in the entire calendar year of 1995, making it the safest year of C-130/L-100 operation since 1963.

November 22, 1996: HC-130H 64-14856, c/n 4072, delivered June 1965 to Air Force Systems Command, Edwards Air Force Base, California, June 1965, same, May 1966, modified to JHC-130H, June 1966. To 48th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, August 1966, to 55th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, December 1966. Revert to HC-130H and assigned to the 305th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, May 1975, same, June 1976, to 303rd ARRS by October 1977, same March 1984, in lizard camouflage by October 1984. To 304th ARRS, January 1986, same, redesignated HC-130P, May 1990, in lizard camouflage, August 1994, same, December 1995. Under call sign King 56, crashed into the Pacific Ocean, 113 kilometers west of Eureka, California, fuel starvation – all engines stopped. Ten of eleven crew killed.[86]

April 1, 1997: C-130H 88-4408, c/n 5161, of the 95th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed after overshooting a landing at Toncontín International Airport, Honduras. Three of the ten occupants were killed.[87]

December 10, 1999: C-130E 63-7854, c/n 3924, of the 61st Airlift Squadron, forward deployed to Kuwait from Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, touched down 880 meters short of runway at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait causing major airframe distorion of the fuselage and severely damaging main landing gear; three USAF fatalities in cargo bay. Belly-landed at Kuwait International Airport. Partially dismantled in Kuwait, then transported to AMARC, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, CF0194, December 2000, to be scrapped, May 2004, same, February 2006.

September 6, 2000: C-130A N116TG of T&G Aviation, Marana, Arizona, crashed at Burzet, southeastern France fighting forest fire. The Hercules, operating for the French Sécurité Civile, crashed while it was dumping water over a forest fire. The aircraft had just carried out a first passage; on the second one it flew into a hill. Two of four crew killed.

January 9, 2002: KC-130MR 160021 of the USMC (VMGR-352) crashed into mountainous terrain while on approach to Shamsi, Pakistan, 270 kilometers SW of Quetta, Pakistan, killing all seven crew members on board.[88]

February 12, 2002: KC-130F 148895 of the USMC (VMGR-252) crash-landed in the desert at Twentynine Palms, California, when two engines flamed out due to fuel starvation during a touch-and-go landing. All crew members survived.

December 29, 2004: MC-130H Combat Talon II 85-0012 of the USAF (15th Special Operations Squadron), landed on a runway in Iraq in darkness that was undergoing maintenance. The aircraft was destroyed but no deaths.

March 31, 2005: MC-130H Combat Talon II 87-0127 of the USAF (7th Special Operations Squadron, 352d Special Operations Group, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom), departed Tirana-Rinas Airport, Albania, for a night training mission to work on terrain-following and avoidance skills, airdrops and landing using night-vision goggles. The aircraft was flying 300 feet above the mountainous terrain when it was approaching a ridge. The airplane was not able to clear the ridge and stalled as the crew attempted to climb away. The aircraft struck the ridge, destroying the aircraft and killing all nine crew members on board.

June 27, 2008: C-130H 86-0412 of the USAF (a forward deployed aircraft assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's 95th Airlift Squadron, 440th Airlift Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina) performed an emergency crash landing at a barren field northeast of Baghdad, Iraq following the loss of all four engines. There were no fatalities. After all usable parts were stripped from the aircraft, it was dismantled by a series of controlled explosions by the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. The wreckage was then transported to a secure US installation.[96][97]

May 19, 2013: C-130J Super Hercules, 04-3144 from the 41st Airlift Squadron, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, crashed during landing at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan when it ran off the runway and stuck a ditch, which collapsed the nose gear and ripped the right main landing gear from the fuselage. The #4 engine struck the ground, pressurized fuel and oil lines were broken, fluid was sprayed over the cracked engine casing, and the right wing caught fire. There were no injuries or fatalities as a result of this accident.[104][105]

April 21, 2015: An AC-130J went beyond limits of sideways flight during testing, and temporarily lost flight control. The aircraft landed safely, but the hull was damaged beyond repair and written off.[106]

October 2, 2015: A C-130J crashed during take off from Jalalabad Airport in eastern Afghanistan, killing all 6 US service members and 5 contractors on board as well as three civilians on the ground. The plane was assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.[107][108]

If the Vietnam War is proscribed by Hercules losses, it lasted 10 years and four days. The 817th Troop Carrier Squadron/6315th Operations Group crew of C-130A 57-0475, c/n 3182, a Blind Bat flareship, crashed into high ground at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, April 24, 1965 during a go-around in bad weather with a heavy load, combined with two lost engines, low fuel, making the unfortunate crew the first Hercules loss in Southeast Asia. The last U.S. military C-130 loss was the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing C-130E 72-1297, c/n 4519, hit by advancing NVA rocket fire on April 28, 1975, forcing Tan Son Nhut Air Base to be closed to fixed wing evacuation of the collapsing South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. Although three U.S. Navy Hercules were attrited during the period of the conflict in Southeast Asia, none were in theater, nor had anything to do with combat operations or support, therefore, they do not appear in Vietnam loss tables. One Navy-operated C-130 was lost in SEA but it was on loan from a USAF unit.

Since Hercules attrition began in 1958, there have been three years in which only one hull was lost: 1959, 1963 and 1995.

There have been several mid-air collisions involving Hercules, but all involved other military aircraft – there has never been a Hercules-civilian mid-air. There have been five cases of Hercules fratricide, four on the ground, July 1, 1965, April 11, 1968, February 1, 1979, and September 10, 1998, and one mid-air on March 29, 1985.

Information about Hercules crash circumstances are most vague for the Sudan – four unidentified accidents, and Iran – three unidentified crashes, and one conjectural.